THE Ministry of Gender, Youth and Child Development said yesterday it is still awaiting a response from the board of management of the St Michael’s Home for Boys to a request from the ministry to enter a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

In a statement, the ministry said government had asked the Home to enter into the MOU in an effort to improve management of such institutions. It said the MOU was prepared and vetted by the Attorney General and sent to the board of management at the Home but, “The ministry still awaits the response from the board of management.”

However, the statement said the board had been informed on May 7 of findings of the investigating team which detailed sexual and other abuse at the home and had responded by letter on June 30.

It continued that the director of National Family Services in the ministry functions as the Inspector of Industrial Schools and Orphanages and as such monitors the activities of these institutions.

It added that, “The ministry wishes to underscore that the ‘day to day’ operations of the home are performed by the manager who performs as the chief executive officer and executes the key management functions of the institution. The board purview entails implementation of rules and provides strategic direction to the manager.”